The Practice of Tolerance
by buduica
Summary: Will isn't just a teacher, but a person in his own right. It's natural he picks favorites, and that there are some students who grate on his last nerve... like Kurt Hummel.


**The Practice of Tolerance**  
_by aishuu_

* * *

There were some things that couldn't be learned in school, even graduate level classes in teacher education. One of them was the complexity of teenager social dynamics.

It was strange, watching the high school experience from the outside. Will hadn't realized what a refined hierarchy teenagers developed, instinctively understanding the roles that they played, and subtlety vying to climb up a ladder which was precarious at best. One only had to witness the glorious fall of Quinn Fabray to realize how impermanent popularity was.

It was hard for Will not to get swept up into the lives of his students, and sometimes he slipped. As a teacher, he held a power that could wreak havoc on the social pyramid. Getting labeled a teacher's pet was never good for a student's rep, but he hadn't learned that until a couple of years into his job. Unlike Sue Sylvester, students didn't fear him, and his efforts to save losers from their peers backfired and made things worse in the long run.

That was why he walked by the dumpster every morning, knowing Kurt Hummel or Jacob Ben Israel or whoever currently lowest ranked on the school's food chain was going to get tossed in. Thankfully the jocks always used the paper recycling bin, which sometimes made for a rough landing but at least wouldn't result in serious injuries. As long as Will didn't see it, he could pretend it wasn't happening, and that would prevent the jocks from escalating their bullying after being thwarted.

He wished he could explain that as Kurt glared at him as he played his oblivious role, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Kurt wasn't the type to care about reasons, although he was a smart kid. Kurt, like most teenagers, cared about what was right in front of his face.

After seven years on the job, Will was starting to get the hang of staying out of the way of his students. He wanted to be the great teacher that could change the system, but he'd learned that it was something kids had to sort out for themselves. Being a teenager was hell, but it was also preparation for the real world, where often times a person had to stand on their own. There would be no caring teacher to swoop in and make sure things were "fair."

Will tried to tell himself he couldn't fix things whenever he passed by Rachel after she'd been slushied, or saw Tina trying to gather all of her belongings that had been scattered by a jock. He refused to look at Jacob's website, knowing the rumors posted there were just as hurtful as a punch. This was the way school had been when he'd gone through, and though the faces were different, the cliques were still the same. Bullying was eternal.

Will could tell who was going to get out of Lima. He had no doubt that Rachel, Kurt and Mercedes would make it out. Quinn, Artie and Tina were the maybes, and Finn was a longshot. The rest of the club – the jocks and cheerleaders – were going to be stuck in Lima, repeating the lives their parents had lived. Their high school days were going to be the most glorious of their lives, and Will wanted them to enjoy it. The rest of their lives were going to suck.

The kids who were beaten down and branded as losers were often stronger in the end. They would be ready to face the world, since they already learned to cope with unhappiness and heartbreak.

Providing they didn't break first.

There had been two suicides at school since Will had started teaching there, which were two too many. Neither student had been in his classes, but William McKinley was a small school. He'd known their names and faces, and couldn't help but wish he'd been able to help. One of them had been crazier than Suzy Pepper so her suicide hadn't been an entire shock, but the other had been a quiet boy who everyone had known was gay.

It was part of the reason why Kurt made Will so uncomfortable.

The suicide rate among gay teens was five times as high as straight teens. Will thought Kurt was strong enough not to be tempted, but being beat down for being himself – out, proud and swishy as the Queer Eye cast – had to wear down on a person.

Will had restarted the Glee Club for students like Kurt, the ones whose popularity ranked in the subbasement. Glee was supposed to be a haven, a place where the kids could come and feel safe for at least a little while. Will knew it wasn't much, but he hoped that it would be enough to sustain the Gleeks. He liked to watch Artie and Tina's budding romance, he found most of Rachel's antics amusing (after he got over his exasperation), and helping Finn grow into a man who actually had dreams for the future was one of his proudest accomplishments.

But Kurt... the fact of the matter was despite his concern, he didn't much _like_ Kurt.

Despite being a teacher, he was human. He had favorites (Finn and Rachel), and then there were the students he didn't click with. Kurt was one of those, and that made him feel guilty.

They should have gotten along. Kurt was one of his smartest students, and he knew musical theater backwards and forwards. He'd been one of the first to sign up for the club, and unlike Finn and Rachel, he'd never swayed in his devotion. He'd quit the football team immediately when Coach Tanaka had offered his ultimatum, after all.

Will still didn't like him.

He resented Burt Hummel's interference into his club, especially since Kurt had proven Will's original decision had been right since he couldn't hit the note in _Defying Gravity._ He disliked the fact that Kurt had joined Cheerios without giving him a head's up. He really disliked having to listen to Kurt's sarcastic comments about Rachel, and he hated the occasional small displays of rebellion Kurt would indulge in. Kurt never crossed the line, but his cutting comments about Will's decisions were less than respectful.

What he really hated was the lack of control he had over Kurt.

He'd called Finn the leader of the Gleeks, back at Sectionals, and that was true to some extent. Finn was their figurehead, the male lead who others looked up to. But while he could occasionally be charismatic, Finn only led because Kurt followed him, and the rest of the Gleeks followed Kurt without knowing it.

Will had seen enough of teenage interactions to understand that leadership wasn't always an obvious thing. Students might think they were following the popular kids, but there would be some undercurrent, a mysterious x factor, that would really be what was motivating them.

In Glee, Kurt was that x factor.

He remembered how Kurt had ordered the other students to vote fairly at the diva-off, and how they had listened. Kurt's mood often sent the tenor of the club meetings, especially about whether or not Rachel's antics were going to be tolerated that day or smacked down. Tina, Artie and Mercedes always sided with him, no matter what, and lately the Cheerios had taken to supporting him as well since he was one of them now.

If it came down to it, Kurt could step up and get the others to follow. It was part of the reason Will had to treat him so cautiously, because Kurt could cause an insurrection in the club if he chose to. If he made a mistake with Kurt, Kurt might decide that leaving was the right thing to do, and he'd take most of his classmates with him.

Will had to admit a certain amazement at all the groups Kurt was starting to have connections with. His brief stint on the football team had earned him the grudging respect of some of the jocks, and joining Cheerios had instantly lifted him out of the subbasement. Without even meaning to, Kurt was slowly becoming one of the most influential students in school. He was a subject of gossip, and not just due to his sexuality. What Kurt did was starting to matter, and other students were paying attention.

To his credit, Kurt didn't seem interested in exploiting his burgeoning popularity. He didn't fight back when the jocks from other teams slushied him or tossed him in the dumpster, accepting the abuse as part of the natural order of high school. He didn't try to curry favor with the Cheerios by turning them loose on Rachel or any of his other enemies. He didn't even try to get revenge on any of the students who bullied him.

Will wondered what would happen if – when – Kurt realized the power he held over his peers. Kurt didn't seem to notice, but maybe it was because he didn't have much respect for the rest of his classmates. Kurt was convinced of his own superiority, and didn't see the value in those he considered beneath him.

That, too, irritated the heck out of Will. When Kurt got that uppity expression on his face, Will was tempted to shake some sense into him. Everyone had value, even the people you didn't like.

Kurt was perceptive enough to recognize he wasn't one of Will's favorites, even though neither of them would ever admit it. Neither of them wanted to see the explosion that would result if they went head to head. Will would likely win because he was in the position of authority, but Kurt would cause a lot of damage in the fallout. They both wanted the same thing in the end – for the Glee Club to succeed – so they would pretend that everything was all right.

This year, he promised himself, he would find a solo for Kurt. It would be something fantastic, something that gave him the opportunity to shine. It was Will's job to be a teacher, and he didn't have to like his students to want the best for them.


End file.
